


Exchange of Hearts

by eternal_confusion



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Christmas Presents, F/F, Fluff, Gifts of Valentia, Post-Canon, Valentia Gift Exchange 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 07:32:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17260145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternal_confusion/pseuds/eternal_confusion
Summary: Valentia castle was bustling with people gathered for the Winter Celebration, but there's only one person there Faye really wants to see.





	Exchange of Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> Secret Santa gift for @isle3cho on twitter  
> Prompt: Fayelica exchanging gifts 
> 
> I went through at least 5 drafts or which direction to take it before finally settling with this, so I hope you liked it ^u^

The first time Faye saw Zofia castle, she was blown away by how large it was. It was far bigger than all the buildings in Ram combined! Though, in her time traveling with the Deliverance she’d come to realize most places seemed imposing compared to the quaint village she grew up in. Even in the few times she’d visited the castle since then, she was still always impressed by its enormity. But now it’s more than the size of the castle - now renamed to Valentia castle - that has her feeling overwhelmed.

The gracious rulers of Valentia had decided to open the castle to the public for a winter celebration. Faye remembers the first time she’d been there it was relatively barren, most of the nobles either gone off to fight in the war or having fled for their own sake. Now, it was bustling with a mixture of nobles and common folk from all corners of the continent who’d flocked to the capital for the grand party. The royal crests that typically adorned the walls were temporarily replaced with tapestries depicting festive scenes - one of children playing in the snow, another of people happily gathered at a hearth, and so forth. The ornate staircase on the far side of the room was lined with winter flora with brightly-colored ornaments hanging from it. The glistening chandelier overhead lit the room with a warm glow.

Faye, along with any other personal friends of the King and Queen, had received a personal invitation to the celebration. However, once she got there she found only a sea of strangers. She would be happy to see any of the friends she’d made during the war, but right now her mission was to find one old friend in particular. With her short height, she had little hope of seeing much beyond her immediate surroundings. She tried to look for the distinctive red hue of Celica’s hair, but with so many shades of red adorning the room and the people within, it was a lost cause. She held her satchel close as she dove into the crowd.

The flow of people eventually brought her to her destination. A whirlpool of people had formed around the Celica, everyone wanting the chance to meet the legendary queen who helped defeat the fell Duma and unite the continent. Faye was sure in some other part of the room there must’ve been a similar crowd gathered around Alm.

As Faye got closer, she was able to get a better view of Celica. She wore her signature kind smile, but Faye could see the growing tiredness in her expression. She could only imagine how long she’d been standing there greeting hundreds of people, attentively listening to the praise or concerns of every one of them. 

Faye couldn’t say whether it was concern for her friend or her own selfish desire for some peace away from the crowd that spurred her to push more forcefully through the people in front of her. Perhaps it was a mixture of both? She didn’t bother to think too much on it, focusing instead on grabbing the hand Celica had outstretched to grasp that of an approaching citizen. Before the redhead had a chance to react to her friend’s sudden appearance, Faye shouted, “Pardon me, I have to borrow the Queen!” and pulled her away.

 She dragged Celica through the crowd of partygoers, still not familiar enough with the castle to know where she was going but just wanting to find somewhere more private. She knew if she dared stop in the swarm of people then they would surely steal Celica back before they even had a chance to talk. She managed to find a dimly lit corridor and pulled her friend a bit further down to be sure they could have peace away from the celebration.

 “Well this is quite a hello,” Celica giggled.

“Sorry, I just missed you! I haven’t been able to see you much at all since your and Alm’s coronation. Letters are nice, but it’s not the same as finally getting to see you in person again.” Now that the atmosphere around them was less hectic, Faye pulled her into a hug as tight as she could manage, as if she never wanted to let go of her again.

“No need to apologize. A small break from my responsibilities is welcome, especially to spend some time with you.” She did feel a little guilty about leaving the party she was helping to host, but her face was growing sore from holding a forced smile for so long. It was much nicer wearing the relaxed smile that came to her naturally when she spent time with Faye. When they did finally break from their embrace, Celica leaned back against a pillar for support. There were no seats nearby, but she still wanted to give her aching feet a bit of a break.

The lanterns in the corridor were weak and spread far apart, barely casting any light on the two girls. However, the moonlight shining through openings behind Celica illuminated her in a way that made her look more ethereal than she had back in the ballroom. Her gown wasn’t as regal as the ones she usually wore when greeting the public - it was shorter and simpler to fit with the more homely theme of the winter celebration - but it now it seemed to shimmer like the stars in the sky behind her. Faye spent a moment dazzled by her beauty.

Realizing she may have held that moment a bit too long, she reached for her satchel. “Oh yeah, I got you a little gift! I mean as Queen of an entire continent I’m sure you could probably get just about anything you wanted. Sooo, I thought maybe a little homemade gift would be the best way to go!” She pulled a medium-sized stuffed animal and held it out for Celica to see. It had a round body and large head, giving it a cutesy style more similar to a teddy bear than an actual animal. Its fur was made of white plush fabric with patches of orange and brown dotting its body. Round, black buttons made its. The nose and mouth were embroidered into the face with pink thread. On the top of its hear were two pointy ears, one sticking straight up and the other folded down.

“A kitty!” Celica’s eyes lit up as she took the gift and marveled at all the adorable details. On each of the paws, she found pink embroidery forming a series of small circles. “Aww, it even has toe beans!” she cooed. Faye couldn’t help but chuckle at how quickly her friend’s mature demeanor melted away to reveal the doting young girl she’d known for so long. She’d really missed getting to see this side of Celica. “Thank you so much, Faye! Actually, I have a present for you too. Wait here just a moment while I go get it,” she gave her a quick hug of appreciation before running off, stuffed animal still held tightly in her right hand.

Faye watched her till she turned down another hallway. She turned to the opening, looking out at the sky to distract her as she waited. Wispy clouds were dispersed across the dark expanse, beginning to cover some of the stars. It hadn’t yet snowed in that part of Valentia that year, but with how cold the air was that night Faye wondered if it would soon. She pulled her sweater sleeves down over her hands, feeling colder just at the thought of snow.

Celica returned to find her fiddling with her braid and staring wistfully at the stars. She couldn’t help but think she looked so cute in the poofy, oversized sweater she wore. She broke her train of thought with a gentle shoulder nudge. “Here, this is for you,” she held out a small wooden box, just larger than her palm.

Inside Faye found a collection of small flowers with round, pink petals that lightened to white towards the center. She lifted one from the box and found they were all woven together into a bracelet with tiny clear gems sparkling between them. The flowers were soft and delicate as if they’d just been picked. “Where did you get these? It’s the middle of winter, I’d think flowers like these would’ve died months ago.”

“I had Genny help me find a spell to preserve them so they never wilt or die. They’re the same kind of flowers that used to grow in the field by Ram when we were younger. When I moved here I had some planted in the castle garden to remind me of the home I once had there, yet every time I would look at them I only thought of you instead. Maybe it’s the colors? Regardless, I felt I should find a way to give you some as a gift.”

“I love it,” Faye slipped the bracelet onto her right hand, trying to ignore the fluttering of her heart when Celica mentioned thinking of her. The flower bracelet made her old band seem awfully boring in comparison, but with how cute it was she couldn’t mind. The sound of distant cheering reminded her of the inevitability of their situation. She deflated a bit and sighed, “I guess you should probably be heading back now, huh? I’m sure everyone else is waiting for you.”

Celica steps closer and pulls the other girl into her arms. “Everyone else can wait a little longer,” she lifted Faye’s chin and softly kissed her on the lips. Light snow began to fall, but in the warmth of each other’s embrace neither noticed.


End file.
